Steven Roth, the chief executive of Vornado Realty Trust, used an earnings call on Tuesday to castigate Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York for his \u201ctax-the-rich\u201d rhetoric, which he likened to a racial slur or a pro-Palestinian rallying cry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI must say that I consider the phrase \u2018tax the rich\u2019 \u2014 quote, tax the rich \u2014 when spit out with anger and contempt by politicians both here and across the country, to be just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs and even the phrase, \u2018from the river to the sea,\u2019\u201d Mr. Roth said, referring to the pro-Palestinian phrase that some Jews<\/a> believe amounts to a call for ethnic cleansing.<\/p>\n Mr. Roth said \u201ctax the rich\u201d suggests that the wealthy are evil and should be made targets, and he criticized the mayor for singling out Kenneth C. Griffin, a fellow tycoon, in his campaign to force rich New Yorkers to pay more to support the city\u2019s programs.<\/p>\n Mr. Roth said Mr. Mamdani\u2019s decision to film a social media video celebrating Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s proposed pied-\u00e0-terre tax<\/a> in front of Mr. Griffin\u2019s multistory penthouse<\/a> \u2014 in a building developed by Vornado \u2014 was \u201cdangerous\u201d and an \u201cugly, unnecessary video stunt.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Griffin, who bought the penthouse in 2019 for $238 million, had no immediate comment.<\/p>\n Joe Calvello, a spokesman for the mayor, said in a statement that \u201cMayor Mamdani wants all New Yorkers to succeed,\u201d including Mr. Griffin, \u201cwho is a major employer in our city and a powerful figure in our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cThat does not negate the fact, however, that our tax system is fundamentally broken. It rewards extreme wealth while working people are pushed to the brink.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Mamdani, 34, ran for office promising to fund expansive new government programs by raising taxes on wealthy individuals<\/a> and major corporations. Mr. Roth spent heavily against Mr. Mamdani and in favor of his opponent, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.<\/p>\n But in the face of a budget gap, Mr. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has instead said those same taxes are also necessary to balance the books.<\/p>\n Unfortunately for Mr. Mamdani, New York City does not control its own tax policy, and Ms. Hochul, who is facing re-election this year, has steadfastly refused to accede to Mr. Mamdani\u2019s demands. But facing pressure from Mr. Mamdani\u2019s base, she did embrace a longstanding proposal to tax expensive second homes in the five boroughs.<\/p>\n And so, on April 15, Tax Day, Mr. Mamdani stood in front of Mr. Griffin\u2019s building and claimed victory.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an annual fee on luxury properties worth more than $5 million, whose owners do not live full-time in the city, like for this penthouse, which hedge fund C.E.O. Ken Griffin bought for $238 million,\u201d Mr. Mamdani said in the video<\/a>, which has since been viewed 52 million times.<\/p>\n At the time Mr. Griffin bought it, the condo was the most expensive home in America.<\/p>\n Mr. Griffin, who is worth an estimated $50 billion<\/a>, responded on Tuesday with pique.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was creepy and weird,\u201d Mr. Griffin said of Mr. Mamdani\u2019s comments during an onstage interview at an investment conference in Beverly Hills, Calif.<\/p>\n Mr. Griffin elaborated in a separate Tuesday interview on CNBC.<\/p>\n Mr. Mamdani \u201cseems to have forgotten that the C.E.O. of another American company was assassinated just blocks from where I live in New York,\u201d Mr. Griffin said, referring to the 2024 killing of Brian Thompson<\/a>, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare.<\/p>\n A week after Mr. Mamdani\u2019s video, Gerald Beeson, the chief operating officer of Citadel, Mr. Griffin\u2019s hedge fund, sent out a letter to his colleagues suggesting that the company might mothball a new $6 billion skyscraper headquarters on Park Avenue that it had been planning to build with Vornado, denouncing Mr. Mamdani\u2019s rhetoric and noting Citadel\u2019s existing contributions to the city.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the past five years, our principals and team members (including nonresidents) have paid nearly $2.3 billion dollars in city and state taxes, providing funds to support the city\u2019s infrastructure, schools, parks and first responders,\u201d Mr. Beeson wrote.<\/p>\n Mr. Griffin said on Tuesday that the development would \u201cprobably\u201d move forward, even as he said that Citadel has also decided to expand its office space in Miami, a move for which he also blamed Mr. Mamdani.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will add far more jobs in Miami over the next decade as an immediate and direct consequence of the mayor\u2019s poor decision here, with respect to his posting of that video,\u201d Mr. Griffin said.<\/p>\n Mr. Griffin has a history of leaving major American cities in the dust. He famously left Chicago<\/a> amid rising crime and a feud<\/a> with Gov. JB Pritzker.<\/p>\n